Trigger Warning: Discussions of gun violence; school shootings.

               Known for her stunning performances in films like Hereditary and television series’ like The Handmaid’s Tale, actress Ann Dowd paid a visit to Angelika New York to discuss her new film, Mass. Following two couples as they attempt to readjust themselves to life after one son commits a mass shooting, killing the other couple’s son and himself along with other students at their school, Mass is a deeply emotional – and thus deeply human – film. Dowd covers what it was like to prepare for such an emotionally taxing role, as well as the filming process and the importance of personal grief and healing after a tragedy.

Watch the Q&A here:

               Mass is a thoroughly emotional journey for the audience, but it was also a very involved experience for the cast. Luckily, Dowd had stated that there were instant connections among the cast, especially the four lead actors. They worked at rehearsals for several days before splitting up for three weeks prior to the shoot. Dowd cites these weeks as a moment that gave her time to really get to know her character Linda not as a written character but as a real human woman, as if she were a friend. It is so clear that the work that Dowd put into the depth and dimensions of her character, recognizing the past, present, and futures of Linda inside and outside of the script.

               The film itself was filmed over only 12 days – not even two weeks – 8 of which were spent in the church basement. Over that week, from daybreak to dusk, the actors would shoot the script alone in the room, with director Fran Kranz watching from another room in an attempt to have the most honest acting from the cast. Dowd describes the ways in which the atmosphere felt almost spiritual in its honesty as these characters search within one another for healing and closure in their grief. Not to mention the spirituality that is a given within the confines of a church basement, a place so close to worship – in the double-entendre title of Mass, exampling a mass shooting as well as a church mass: a gathering of people to heal together. As Dowd describes it, “it’s a film that, at the end of the day, is about healing. And healing is a beautiful thing.”

About the film: This explosive movie about two sets of parents who agree to talk privately after one couple’s son killed the others’ son in a school shooting, stars acting powerhouses Reed Birney, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, and Martha Plimpton. Writer/Director Fran Kranz has been compared by some critics to Tennessee Williams and represented one of the most acclaimed films at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. MASS is a powerful exploration of reconciliation and understanding and will offer audiences a chance to empathize with those who have lost.